UNITED NATIONS, Sept 27: President Asif Ali Zardari assured the international community on Thursday that eradicating polio was now a national priority as Pakistan joined Nigeria and Afghanistan as one of only three nations in the world where polio was still a major problem.

“We are making real progress and polio cases over the last year are down by two-thirds in Pakistan,” the president told a UN-sponsored conference in New York aimed at rooting out the diseases that cripples children.

Heads of state from Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan stood alongside donor government officials and new donors from the public and private sectors to outline a strategy for stamping out the disease forever.

Conference organisers sought from the three nations a long-term commitment of resources, applying innovative best practices, and continued leadership and accountability at all levels of government.

“Every child should have the right to start life with equal protection from this disease. That’s why I have made eradicating polio a top priority for my second term as Secretary-General,” said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

“We cannot allow, a disease we can all prevent, to imperil the lives of our children,” President Zardari agreed. “Fighting polio is a national priority. Our aim is to completely eradicate polio from Pakistan.”—Masood Haider and Anwar Iqbal